What We Do: Complementary Education Program
Getting Every Child Into School
The Complementary Education Program (CEP) taught out-of-school children basic literacy, numeracy and life skills to enable them to enter primary school.
The nine-month program was aimed at children ages 8 to 14 in the three northern regions of Ghana, where thousands of children miss out on primary school.
The Complementary Education Program (CEP) approach was developed by School for Life, a Ghanaian non-profit organisation that is a partner in the EQUALL project. Important aspects of the Complementary Education Program were:
Success
More than 26,250 children learnt basic literacy and numeracy skills through EQUALL’s Complementary Education Program. More than 88 per cent of CEP graduates transitioned into the formal school system. Many graduates completed primary school and continued to Junior High School.- pupils were taught to read in the local language
- school hours were flexible - often during the afternoon when children had finished their work duties
- classes were taught by local volunteers
- communities recruited the volunteer teachers, chose class times, chose learners and formed local committees to oversee the management of the program
- class sizes had a maximum of 25 pupils.
Success
The complementary education program was so successful that the Ministry of Education approved a new complementary education policy to cater for children in underserved and rural areas.More than 88 percent of graduates of the program were mainstreamed into the formal school system usually at primary 3. Many graduates completed primary school and continued to Junior High School.
